Saturday, January 26, 2013

Two views from Saudi: Hi guys (or gals)!

My video on Islam & Unitarianism has had two views (so far) from Saudi (as per the stats page for the video). They're checking me out...

Here's a video of an atheist visiting Mecca:

The previous occurrences of the account were deleted via trolls.
For example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGmOpVrYJ5Q has been terminated. So watch the newest incarnation of the atheist in Mecca video while you can.

And here again is a film where an apparent atheist visits a Mormon temple, to view the ceremony where they show a film:



and here's the version of the Mormon temple ceremony that has live actors:





Hi again, guys and (hopefully) gals from Saudi Arabia. Thanks for checking out my videos. I'm glad you were able to stop by...

Monday, January 21, 2013

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Atheists, exmormons, ex-Muslims, and so on "moving on" - video commentary

January 19, 2013 video commentary on atheists, exmormons, and people who've left other religions "moving on."

Are you uncomfortable being around atheists, ex-mormons, ex-Muslims, or people who've left other cults - people with a lot of "religious baggage?"

Here's a video commentary for you, and also about whether people are free to speak their mind while inside various religions or not. Also avoiding cults of personality, even in atheist groups.


Related blog post:

Why are exmormons and atheists so angry? Because they have damn good reasons to be. 
https://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2013/01/why-are-exmormons-so-angry-because-they.html

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Why are exmormons and atheists so angry? Because they have damn good reasons to be.

Apparently some people really do wonder:

Why are ex-mormons & atheists so angry?

Examples regarding those who leave Mormonism, which some may highlight:

My own pages:
http://corvus.freeshell.org/corvus_corax/two/life_path/life_path.htm#history

A video about launching a mission to the Mormon god's homeworld:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12puVX3vtrY

A support group which has annual conferences in Salt Lake:
http://www.exmormonfoundation.org/

One of the forums where exmormons hang out:
http://exmormon.org/phorum/list.php?2
an additional forum: http://www.postmormon.org/

Additional good sites - about the kooky crazy nature of Mormonism. Can you detect some anger? Yes. It's refreshing & helpful...
http://www.salamandersociety.com/
http://nowscape.com/mormon/

Even some some atheists wonder about the anger of exmormons & fellow atheists.

Why? Why? Why are we so angry?

Because we have damn good reasons to be. Check out the links above. Read what people actually say.

All that baggage. Why don't we just "get over it?" We do live our lives and we move forward. But we never completely "move on." Why? Because the petrified penis of Mormonism still stands tall over Salt Lake. Because the "Miracle of Forgiveness" is still sold in the Mormon Church distribution centers. Because asshole Boyd Packer is still spewing human spirit destroying filth. Because the Mormon Church continues to oppress people. Because we're upset at being lied to. Because some of our families disowned us. Because some of our fellows committed suicide because of the pain.

Some people who had a fluffy exit from Mormonism, or who were only ever liberal religionists or who have always been non-religious, these people often have no idea what life was like in Mormonism or other conservative cults.

Why don't we just "get over it?" Ask us in a more respectful tone & maybe we'll tell you.

I will not disparage people for seeking social support after they leave a cult. You shouldn't either.
 
Why is it such a mystery to some why these people have "so much religious baggage?" Because they do. And maybe they need some help learning how to be more free from the cult they spent many years inside.

Atheist groups serve as a social support for people who leave various religions. People with a "lot of religious baggage" may well show up to such meetings, and if that offends you, too bad. It's par for the course at such meetings. Maybe those people need your help.

Related video commentary added January 19, 2013:


Related book:
Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007MCMKV6

Related site & a good quote:
http://new.exchristian.net/2011/02/why-are-atheists-so-angry.html
"...Atheists are fully justified in their anger, and that anger may be the last, best hope for our species surviving our own ignorance and gullibility. If religious forces ever manage to quell our anger, then they will have won the battle . . . and lost the world..."

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Sam Harris on when crazies get guns...

Sam Harris on when crazies get guns:

http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-riddle-of-the-gun
http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/faq-on-violence

I think his views are influenced in part by the death threats he has received due to his past writings & work. Nevertheless I agree that more can be done to keep guns out of the hands of nuts, and perhaps out of the homes of people who have nuts living there.

My past comments on the issue are here:
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2012/12/comments-on-gun-control-december-17-2012.html


As for Sam Harris, it's worth making note of people who receive threats from Islamists for speaking their mind:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theo_van_Gogh_%28film_director%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayan_Hirsi_Ali

The film Theo Van Gogh was killed over:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_Rushdie


Death threats do tend to sharpen the mind I'm sure. All these people tend to be hawks when it comes to Islam, and for good reason - because they have first hand experience with what happens when we encounter a medieval cult still with wide reaching power over people.

More on 9/11 liberals:





Friday, January 11, 2013

The new creed of Unitarian Universalism: Islam is a religion of peace & Mohamed loved social justice

The new creed of Unitarian Universalists: Islam is a religion of peace & Mohamed loved social justice



The above video is response to the following UU document:

Unitarian Universalists and Islam: An Introduction to Interfaith Dialogue and Reading Group Guide
as at http://rs1.uua.org/documents/washingtonoffice/uu_muslim_interfaith_guide.pdf

Related blog posts:
Happy Christmas, tossing out the bad nuts, Islam, Unitarianism, being a 'progressive,' and fighting sociopathy and psychopathy
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2012/12/happy-christmas-tossing-out-bad-nuts.html

Unitarian Universalist fawning appreciation of Mohammad and Islam
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2010/12/unitarian-universalist-fawning.html

And, some related men I admire on the subject:

Tawfik Hamid, on what it's really like to be an Islamist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxfo11A7XuA

Sam Harris debating Reza Aslan:
https://www.youtube.com/results?q=sam+harris+reza+aslan+debate&oe=utf-8&aq=t
on morality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTKf5cCm-9g

Salman Rushdie on Bill Maher on 9/11 liberals. Yes I'm one too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1lZnXUe0qY

Pat Condell - I very much appreciate his tone & his positions on religion. I may not agree with all of his politics, but I nevertheless love the way he states his positions:
http://www.youtube.com/user/patcondell

-----

video commentary is from January 9 & 10, 2013 videos combined into one

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

atheist morality: response to Peter Singer, Moshe Averick: after birth abortions, infanticide, and human rights


As an atheist I whole heatedly disagree with Peter Singer’s positions on abortion, infanticide, and human rights.

Notes from video commentary, with additional thoughts:

Religion is a natural phenomenon. So the good that comes from religion is natural. There are atheists who are concerned about abortion, and who absolutely do not agree with Singer.

Without god everything is permitted? No. There is no god, and not everything is permitted. So the answer is no to that proposition.

In Averick's article on Singer he doesn't need to paint all atheists as immoral. We aren’t - we’re human just like him, and humans have human morals.

And as for Singer, I recommend you read this post and an earlier post, which includes notes on Sam Harris & Christopher Hitchens, on the problems with moral & cultural relativism, and an advocacy for discouraging abortion.

Can a middle road be taken on abortion? How about: First & second trimester: legal but highly discouraged. Third trimester: illegal. After birth abortion: equivalent to murder. How's that?

Morality comes from a combination of socialization and genetics. Check out Steven Pinker, Sam Harris, & Daniel Dennet on the subject of morality, religion, and the thankfully evolving & improving moral zeitgeist.

I admit that I have built in morals, as do most people except for sociopaths, and except (in part) for people currently tied down by meme sets that are infecting their brains & making them less moral than they would otherwise be.

Religion can make people less moral than they would otherwise be (eg: suicide bombers as one example). The ivory tower of academics can do the same, for example where students learn the "value" of moral & cultural relativism, and the lie of the blank slate.

Did your god have sex with Mary the mother of Jesus? Does your god live on Kolob? Is Mohamed god's messenger? If you don't believe any one, two, or three of these three points, then maybe it's not illusory to be a so-called atheist.

Stop mutilating the genitals of kids. There's plenty of people who're atheist with regard to many gods including yours, and yet they have just as much "family values" as you have.

Nihilism is not an appropriate response, not from atheists or theists or anyone.

A set of memes can put you off the rails of natural built in morality. So watch out & don't be sucked in by anyone.

Additional blog post on these issues:

Peter Singer is an amoral fuck -- speaking as an atheist. On morality, children, infanticide, and abortions.
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2013/01/peter-singer-is-amoral-fuck-speaking-as.html

My additional writings:

http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com
http://corvus.freeshell.org

And from people I generally admire:
http://www.samharris.org/media/video
Hitchens:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hitchens&oq=hitchens&gs_l=youtube
Pinker:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=steven+pinker&oq=steven+pinker&gs_l=youtube
Dennett:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=daniel+dennett&oq=daniel+dennett&gs_l=youtube

We aren't required to choose between the ass hole tea baggers of Fox News & the current Republican Party, and the similarly anally retentive feminazi zero population growth ultra lefties who love PETA and similar groups, and who believe that women who're homemakers are selling themselves short. A pox on both of their houses. We're moving forward, as natural humans who're interested in truth and what science reveals about everything. And when your preconceived or inculcated notions are debunked, then drop them. I'll try to do the same.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Review of the film Orgazmo, the Mormon temple film, and candiates for other films to show inside of Mormon temples

My review of the film Orgazmo, on January 2nd, 2013


Orgazmo is a particularly important film, especially in Utah. In my view they should replace the Mormon temple film, with the above film.


The above is the movie version of the Mormon temple endowment ceremony. The live version can be found by clicking here - as performed in the Salt Lake Temple.

Other good candidates for Mormon temple movie replacements:



Destricted - played at Sundance in Salt Lake in 2006

When the God had sex with Mary, according to Family Guy:


An even more accurate video, showing Mormon space & Jesus theology, and how the Mormon God  had sex with Mary:


We were all just sperm in god's balls - a 12-22-2012 reprise of a song I composed some time ago - also good for viewing inside of Mormon temples:


Related review post from January 2nd, 2013:



Mr. Bebe has his first meal other than 吃牛奶 (breast milk) - December 25, 2012

On December 25, 2012 Mr. Bebe his first meal other than 吃牛奶 (breast milk)...


Also Chirpa is shown, our female Quaker parrot.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

In Islam too: religious fear of human sexuality

What is the influence of Islam on Islamic women in America. At a school an adult employee covers up her rear end and tight jeans with a large pillow. Previously she allowed her sexy behind to be seen by all. Another Islamic female employee changes her head covering so that it covered even more of her face - closing the circle ever tighter. During Ramadan employees of the school are obliged to not ear their lunch in front of Islamists present, or in their building, for fear of offending them. W-T-F?

Today I happened accross the following story:

Indonesia city to ban women 'straddling motorbikes'

To all lame brained Unitarian-type lefties (speaking as a 'liberal' myself) who believe Islam is just so super, and that Mohamed was oh so such a great advocate for social justice, consider what being forced to live in cloth bags does for children, women, and men.

Here's a related video by a former Muslim believer:


Related blog posts:

WTF: Lefties in favor of bagging women from head to toe:
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2010/10/wtf-lefties-in-favor-of-bagging-women.html

Unitarian Universalist fawning appreciation of Mohammad and Islam:
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2010/12/unitarian-universalist-fawning.html


And http://corvus.freeshell.org/corvus_corax/two/life_path/life_path.htm


Peter Singer is an amoral fuck -- speaking as an atheist. On morality, children, infanticide, and abortions.

Peter Singer is an amoral fuck -- speaking as an atheist. On morality, children, infanticide, and abortions...

Today I started watching a debate between David Silverman and Dinesh D'Souza:


Peter Singer:
 "...human babies are not born self-aware ... they are not persons ... the life of a newborn is of less value than the life of a pig, a dog, or a chimpanzee."
Silverman doesn't speak for all atheists. Atheism is not a religion per se, and we aren't required to join hands with everyone who may be classified as an atheist.

Merry Christmas. Happy Solstice. Merry Festivus. Whatever. I don't have a problem with any of these unlike Silverman

And Singer's past comments are disturbing, wrong, and amoral. Religion is a natural phenomenon. Whatever good comes from religion still is natural, not supernatural. So Dinesh should make note of that, if he can. And at the same time, being an atheist doesn't have to mean being a zero population growth ultra-leftie.

Singer is a fucking nut, speaking frankly...

More info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Singer
http://www.equip.org/articles/peter-singers-bold-defense-of-infanticide/

I don't have a problem with American Atheists as a group per se, but I'm not into leader-worship though. So Silverman is just plain wrong on the specific point of Singer's morality or lack thereof. Since atheism is not a religion per se we're not obliged to kowtow to arguments from authority.

There is a theme of relativistic amorality in the ivory tower. I agree with the assessment of Steven Pinker and Sam Harris about the state of higher education in America, with their belief in the blank slate, and advocacy for cultural & moral relativism so anally retentive that it's no problem for these people if religions oppress their own people. Who are we to say what's moral? We are. And not everything is relative...

Related links:

After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?
''...the authors argue that what we call ‘after-birth abortion’ (killing a newborn) should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the newborn is not disabled..."
http://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2012/03/01/medethics-2011-100411.full#aff-1

While I agree that abortion in the first two trimesters should remain legal, I think there's good arguments to be made for highly discouraging the practice at the very least during that time, and good reason to bar it legally after the first two trimesters:

Pro-life atheists insist that a human life has intrinsic value, even though they don't believe in God.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/11/28/no-god-and-no-abortions.html

Hitchens on abortion:


So, I do differ with Singer. I'd rather see all the dogs and pigs on this planet destroyed than to see one innocent human child killed. So, how's that for atheist morality?

It's not the atheism or theism that's the issue here. Most people have built in morals, except for psychopaths and sociopaths, and people who've spent far too much time in the morally & culturally relativistic sewer of academia.

Sam Harris quote:
“For nearly a century, the moral relativism of science has given faith-based religion--that great engine of ignorance and bigotry--a nearly uncontested claim to being the only universal framework for moral wisdom. As a result, the most powerful societies on early spend their time debating issues like gay marriage when they should be focused on problems like nuclear proliferation, genocide, energy security, climate change, poverty, and failing schools.”
 and another from Harris:
"...the consequences of moral relativism have been disastrous. And science's failure to address the most important questions in human life has made it seem like little more than an incubator for technology. It has also given faith-based religion -- that great engine of ignorance and bigotry -- a nearly uncontested claim to being the only source of moral wisdom. This has been bad for everyone. What is more, it has been unnecessary -- because we can speak about the well-being of conscious creatures rationally, and in the context of science. I think it is time we tried."
 -------------------------

1-8-12 addendum:

Video commentary added:


And another blog post:


atheist morality: response to Peter Singer, Moshe Averick: after birth abortions, infanticide, and human rights
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2013/01/atheist-morality-response-to-peter.html

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Agreed: 'Windows 8 looks like a messy wall decorated by a 6 year old.'

I agree with the following:
Windows 8 looks like a messy wall decorated by a 6 year old.
Indeed. And WTF is up with having to get a third party start menu back? Get some sanity back:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Start_Menu_replacements_for_Windows_8
...and control over your OS back from M$oft.

Also how to get XP Mode to work in Windows 8:
http://lifehacker.com/5965889/how-to-run-windows-xp-for-free-in-windows-8

Micro-managing bean counting nazis. But, do I want to switch to Linux full time? Not really. The community helps fight back against what M$ may do. Apple is no better & controls their users even more IMO.


Related links:

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33642_7-57496506-292/how-to-get-the-start-menu-back-in-windows-8/

http://www.infoworld.com/d/microsoft-windows/9-windows-start-menus-windows-8-208963

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33642_7-57560912-292/windows-8-wrestles-with-pcs-legacy/

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/141702-how-to-bring-the-start-menu-and-button-back-to-windows-8

http://www.extremetech.com/tag/windows-8-tips

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_features_removed_in_Windows_8

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2012/12/05/christmas-gift-for-someone-you-hate-windows-8/


Vista was a slow draggy POS best avoided. Windows 7 was much better. And now, 8 may well be a POS best avoided if possible. Can't they just stick to one interface and stop stripping good stuff out? Or at least allow more choice? If not, we'll f-ing do it ourselves...
 

even the Romans did it...

even Romans did it...



as from a fresco in the public baths at Pompeii
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotic_art_in_Pompeii_and_Herculaneum

Compare & contrast with what you may have been told.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170415164512/http://lds-mormon.com/worthy_letter1.shtml
...The First Presidency has interpreted oral sex as constituting an unnatural, impure, or unholy practice.  If a person is engaged in a practice which troubles him enough to ask about it, he should discontinue it...
Related blog, which is apparently a parody:
https://stakepresident.blogspot.com/2011/05/oral-abstinence-key-to-happy-fulfilling.html

And a relevant quote from the comments section of linked to blog:
President, I have a very embarrassing yet pertinent question I feel I must raise. As a daughter of Zion, I have always kept myself pure unto the Lord, which has led to some difficulties in the marital bed. My dear husband has discovered the key to unlocking my glorious God-given pleasure center is through his own oral skills. In fact, I cannot achieve a certain high point without such activity. If we follow our Lord's annointed's advice, I fear I shall never achieve sexual satisfaction again. What is more important do you think? Perhaps continue this practice and then repent once we are old and don't care about sex any more? Oh help me President, I am so torn!! 
As for the Pompeii bath house art shown above, I've found that there's apparently other humans with similarly healthy exuberance also.

Fertility festivals found:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanamara_Matsuri

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C5%8Dnen_Matsuri

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCIjjvl1JQE


Additional:
https://www.google.com/search?q=fertility+festivals&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=839

And on my own older website:
http://corvus.freeshell.org/corvus_corax/two/art.htm#Pompeii




Orgazmo film, Mormonism, and Sex

We watched Orgazmo during the past few days & enjoyed it very much.

Here's the film on youtube:



and more info about the film:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgazmo

Trey Parker has apparently had a fascination with Mormon culture, although as an outsider he doesn't quite understand everything. For example his portrayal of a Mormon family in the South Park episode All About Mormons he portrays a Mormon family as being more happy than other families, and that a kid in that family didn't really care about the wacky stuff in this religion. But his portrayal of what life is really like in Mormon families is not quite accurate. There's also a lot of pain, stress, and guilt. Also in Utah there's a great deal of anti-depressant use. Here's the video of the episode:
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s07e12-all-about-mormons
and more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_About_Mormons

When I first saw Orgazmo several years ago I knew the best thing that could happen would be for all Mormons, especially all old the fart Mormon leaders, to immediately receive the influence of the following device, an orgazmorator.


When they're up there in General Conference giving stuffy nosed I-am-so-important-when-I-speak-in-a-low-voice pompous pious speeches, the best thing that could ever happen would be for such a device to be activated, so that they & all the crowd assembled would be similarly affected.

Related info:
http://www.salamandersociety.com/media/movies/ryans/
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,23229

When Spencer Kimball hyperventilated and dreamed of necking, petting, heavy petting, masturbation, and oral sex, all while he wrote the following documents, I'm sure he would have benefited from such a device.
http://lds-mormon.com/worthy_letter.shtml
http://lds-mormon.com/worthy_letter1.shtml - make special note of this page
http://www.lds.org/braille/The%20Miracle%20of%20Forgiveness.txt

Related video:

Mormonism & oral sex - Hi, I'm a Mormon, or I was one for 26 years.


 
Related posts from last year:
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2012_12_01_archive.html

---

Video review added on January 4, 2013:

Review of the film Orgazmo, the Mormon temple film, and candiates for other films to show inside of Mormon temples

http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2013/01/review-of-film-orgazmo-mormon-temple.html

Sunday, December 30, 2012

responses to continued mobot (Mormon) fear of sex

Recently I discovered that Miracle of Forgiveness is available at the mobot distribution centers, in several different languages. In each language section they have the BOM, maybe a bible, but always this POS book.
http://www.lds.org/braille/The%20Miracle%20of%20Forgiveness.txt

Very appropriate responses to this book can be found in the form of one star reviews at Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Miracle-of-Forgiveness-ebook/product-reviews/B002JQK1VG/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_1?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar&showViewpoints=0

Since the Mormon Church apparently considers this book to still be highly relevant, then every despicable thing Spencer Kimball & Boyd Packer have done relative to negative portrayals of human sexuality to the youth & adults in the church is relevant also.

On oral sex, Spencer wants to get into your bedroom:
http://lds-mormon.com/worthy_letter.shtml
http://lds-mormon.com/worthy_letter1.shtml

On masturbation, Spencer & Boyd both want to have a look:
http://www.zionsbest.com/only.html
http://mormonthink.com/QUOTES/masturbation.htm

Also Spencer really is concerned about "petting" and "heavy petting." Oh my, that f-ing old fart must really have been hyperventilating when he wrote his Miracle of Forgiveness book. Necking. Petting. Heavy Petting. Tell us more Spencer, about all the things you dream about at night but also hate yourself for thinking of.

But people say he was such a nice man. My father has said this, as did my mother who worked as a nurse in the COB. But the guy was really not so nice after all, after you read all hateful the trash he put out.

Here's a related blog post:
Subverting normal human sexuality: Mormon Church's principal crime
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2012/12/subverting-normal-human-sexuality.html

Anyway, with my new wife seeing the pretty white shirts and the pretty buildings, and with my more recent research into the issue of Kimball's trash book being widely promoted in different languages by the mobot church, I decided to put on youtube a reprise of a song I created some time ago:

We were all just sperm in god's balls, a parody of the song Seeds:
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2012/12/we-were-all-just-sperm-in-gods-balls.html

And, with Joseph Smith's nutty view of heaven in the form of Kolob, and "Kobol" entering the common consciousness in the form of the much less campy newer Battlestar Galatica version, the following newer song came out of a recent morning shower singing session:

Launch a Mission to Kolob...
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2012/12/launch-mission-to-kolob-and-blow-place.html

Joseph gets to have a 14 year old wife & wives who are still married to other men.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Joseph_Smith's_wives

Brigham gets a 15 year old & wives still married to other men.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Brigham_Young's_wives

But, Spencer & Boyd really were/are obsessed with that you and your children are up to at home, at night, in the privacy of your bedrooms. What's up with that? And since Spencer's piece of trash book is *very* relevant for the Mormon Church, as per their having it readily available in many different languages at their distribution centers, (and reportedly since it's required reading for new missionaries) it's clear that they are still very interested in transmitting this human spirit destroying set of memes onto everyone they can.

What is up with the Mormon Church & sex? Their horn dog founder created a religion whose god, apparently, has to have an orgasm every 4.6 minutes to create 107 billion people in one million years.

107 billion people may have lived on Earth so far:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2097038/Are-really-people-alive-today-lived-Earth.html
...and that number doesn't account for "worlds without end."

Perhaps the Mormon God is rather like a giant space termite:
http://www.termite.com/images/queenking.jpg
...that would be more fitting.

Is your god an alien?
http://corvus.freeshell.org/psittacus/three/tract/kolob_tract.htm

...and yet, now they want to very much control even the mere thought of sex in their members. Why? Because once a person actually allows themselves to be open to the possibility of sex being fun, normal, natural, empowering, and liberating, they can more easily find they have no use for the Mormon God or for the supposedly good feelings you get during Mormon Church meetings or from reading the lies of Joseph in the form of the Mormon scriptures.

The Mormon Church tries to hijack people's basic emotions, and to subvert & control & misinterpret them for their own nefarious ends. Some other religions do this also.

In any case I get much better feelings of validation from the love of my wife & new son than I ever got in mostly boring Mormon Church meetings, and from the occasional good feelings they claimed "proved" their church was correct. There's a price to be paid for pretty white shirts and pretty buildings.

If feelings can be used as a form of validation, then that means the much better feelings I've had since leaving indicates that their lies were incorrect.

Jonathan

Current blog: http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/
Legacy website: http://corvus.freeshell.org/psittacus/one/jonathan.html
Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/chinadreams888

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

penis found at Arches National Park - December 23, 2012

An intriguing rock formation we found at Arches National Park, on December 23, 2012...


More recently I've been saying that the only god worth worshiping is sex. And sex leads to babies... So be it.

Fellow humans who also agree:


Japanese fertility festivals:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanamara_Matsuri
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C5%8Dnen_Matsuri


and in Pompeii:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotic_art_in_Pompeii_and_Herculaneum

Happy Christmas, tossing out the bad nuts, Islam, Unitarianism, being a 'progressive,' and fighting sociopathy and psychopathy

Merry Christmas. Happy Christmas. Merry Solstice. I don't have a problem with these really.

After leaving Mormonism around 1994 I did have more of a preference for the solstice idea, and I made note of Saturnalia and Mithra. Here's a related video by Stephen Fry: 



Recently I happened across the facebook page for the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City. Back in August there was some rather high unpleasantness at a Sikh church in Wisconsin. 

In response to the violence by some nut a lady named
Shahla Khan Salter posted an article on a Candian Huffington Post site. Then this Unitarian person found the article & posted it.

This is from a fellow Unitarian and our Muslim sister for Progressive Values and friend, Shahla Khan Salter, 
"And many of us believe, that in creating all of humanity God placed upon us responsibilities to our fellow human beings regardless of faith -- a duty to love and look after our neighbours and not just our neighbours of the same faith, a duty to speak out for justice and not only to help those of our own faith, a duty to work towards peace for all of humanity and put an end to war, famine and oppression, without regard to faith.
God doesn't care if you are Muslim or Christian, Jewish or Hindu, Jain or Buddhist, B'hai or Sikh -- or any of the other classifications by which we categorize ourselves to better understand our journey here on earth.
God only cares about the way in which we treat one another.
"Do you know what is better than prayer, fasting and charity? It is keeping peace and good relations between people." -Prophet Muhammad
So to our Sikh brothers and sisters in North America and beyond we say this: The shooting of members of the American Sikh community at gudwara in Milwaukee, Wisconsin yesterday was a tragedy that has shocked us all. We offer our condolences to you at this time and hope and pray that your communities -- your loved ones, families, friends, priests, and places of prayer and reflection -- remain safe now and in the future. 
Sat Sri Akal. God is the Ultimate Truth. Yes. Salaam. Peace."
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/shahla-khan-salter/miliwaukee-temple-shooting_b_1747360.html
And here's an additional article by the woman:


http://sjpaderborn.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/no-banning-innocence-of-muslims-is-not-the-solution-by-shahla-khan-salter-on-the-huffington-post-canada/

...where she says: 
1. Merely because the depiction is suggested doesn’t make it true;
2. Because there is no coercion allowed in Islam according to the Holy Quran, human beings are free to believe as they choose; and
3. Our Prophet Muhammad practiced a virtually super-human degree of patience, which we are supposed to emulate.
----


Response:


There's always a certain number of nuts in the world. It is rather unfortunate that Sikhs were targeted as noted. But, it's also important to not conflate & whitewash & mix things up in confusing ways. Nor is it good to use the crazed acts of some nuts as a means of glossing over actual history about a separate religion from Sikhism.

Unitarians don't have a creed, supposedly, and so as a 'member' of two local congregations I'm not bound to any dogma that states that I have to adhere to the Reza Aslan school of Islamic thought.

A related blog post from the past:
Unitarian Universalist fawning appreciation of Mohammad and Islam
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2010/12/unitarian-universalist-fawning.html


With the more recent violence at a school, here's some more recent thoughts:
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2012_12_01_archive.html

As for Islam, one need only click on what he wrote as shown in the Skeptic's Annotated Quran, on the following categories:
Injustice
Intolerance
Cruelty and Violence
Women

As an atheist having a certain god threaten to burn off your skin, put it back on, and then burn it again, is not a particularly pleasant prospect. Quranic quote:

"...4:56 Lo! Those who disbelieve Our revelations, We shall expose them to the Fire. As often as their skins are consumed We shall exchange them for fresh skins that they may taste the torment. Lo! Allah is ever Mighty, Wise..."
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/quran/4/index.htm#56

So, I'm definitely against nut jobs hurting people. Baring genetic manipulation of future generations there's always going to be a certain percentage of potentially violent nut jobs. Maybe we can spot them easier and fight them more, and keep guns away from them. But let's not mix apples & oranges, ok?

And, here's an interesting video about charismatic charlatans taking advantage of people:



So, as for Muslims for progressive values, it seems to me it's a bit easier for Christians to redefine Jesus into a nicer guy since a.) Jesus probably never existed (additional site), and b.) Jesus never went on theocratically inspired war campaigns. Mohamed did on both fronts.

Maybe being a 'progressive' religionist involves just as much whitewashing as the people who painfully try to apologize for the evils in the Old Testament of the Bible? When I read the words of people who actually believe that Mohamed was such a great progressive, I am not only shocked and amazed, I'm also saddened, because I know what the words in the Quran actually say. Death and murder are very hard to transmute into peace and love. The words are right there, in the Quran. The increasingly more frequent violent actions of psychopaths at chuches & schools has nothing to do with "religion only being about love." Religion, much of it, hasn't been about love at all. And being a "progressive" shouldn't mean being a liar nor a whitewasher about a charismatic charlatan who had sex with a 9 year old and who engaged in religious warfare, peace be upon him.


Anyway, as for Christmas, really it's about the Real New Year - with the days getting longer after winter solstice. Gift giving. Love. Family. That's all good. But we aren't going to be children either, not solely. So let's tell the truth also.

Photos and videos through December 25, 2012

November and December photos, and additional December videos:

Several new photos have been added at http://public.fotki.com/petcrows-December-2012/

Photo subjects to date in this section:

Antelope Island visit 11-4-2012
home in the snow
Tracy Aviary, Utah Museum of Fine Art and later of Contemporary Art, Black Rock - Great Salt Lake, Thanksgiving, Neff's Canyon, Park City - 11-13 to 24, 2012
lights downtown, Salt Lake Valley Atheists meeting, 11-27 to 12-12, 2012
Tree festival & Atheists of Utah Winter Solstice party - 12-12 to 18, 2012
Park City, Bear River Bird Refuge, Golden Spike National Monument, Arches National Park, Christmas breakfast 12-21 to 25, 2012
Videos:

Bear River Bird Refuge & Golden Spike National Historic Site - December 22, 2012:


Hiking up to delicate arch, Arches National Park - December 23, 2012:


driving from Moab back to Salt Lake December 24, 2012: